New 2022 F1 rules 'could give Lewis Hamilton edge over Max Verstappen'

Former Formula 1 driver Sergey Sirotkin expects that the new regulations coming into the sport for 2022 may play into the hands of Lewis Hamilton over Max Verstappen.

2022 sees a swathe of new aerodynamic changes introduced with bigger dimension wheels also coming in, and that is set to drastically change how the cars handle compared to 2021 and previous years.

Indeed, it has the potential to give some drivers a chance of climbing the field if the new approach suits their driving style, whilst for others it presents a new challenge they must deal with.

Of course, all 20 are immensely skilled and should adapt just fine over time but in terms of the two championship contenders from last year, Sirotkin is backing Hamilton to potentially have an early edge:

“This year we will of course get completely new cars,” he began in his latest Formule 1 column.

“These should be slower in the corners, which means you have to brake longer and more for this. Compared to last year, you spend more time.

“This will mainly be to Hamilton’s advantage, again especially on tracks where it matters such as Barcelona and Budapest.

“Nobody knows exactly how the 2022 cars will fare, of course, but the fact that in theory they will be a little more difficult to drive may be somewhat beneficial to Hamilton as he controls his car’s balance so well.

“When you talk about that control over the brakes, rotation and weight transfer at the entry of a corner, Lewis is definitely number one on the grid.

“Lewis knows how to ‘load’ the front axle very well because he has such good feel and control of the brakes. So it actually becomes a sum.

“Because of this gift, he can take more speed with him at the beginning of the corner and take a profit there, while that